Whether you enjoyed or hated the Star Wars sequels, you gotta admit Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) was a pretty great villain, in part thanks to Adam Driver’s nuanced performance throughout the three movies. Many fans had been asking for more stories centered around him, and now Lucasfilm and Marvel Comics are answering with an ongoing series written by Charles Soule.
The official Star Wars website shared the news on October 24, teasing Legacy of Vader “begins with a journey to Mustafar, where Ren will descend into Vader’s castle,” with later issues taking Kylo “to the familiar sands of Tatooine as he tries to unlock the secrets of his family’s past.”
Considering that The Last Jedi ended with Ren taking control of the First Order and that The Rise of Skywalker picked things up one year later, there’s a big story gap there that’s only been briefly explored in other books and media. The rise of the First Order across the galaxy before Emperor Palpatine dropped an announcement in Fortnite is a scenario worth exploring in depth, especially with such a volatile man in charge of everything as he chases literal ghosts.
The ongoing comic book series is written by Star Wars veteran Charles Soule, who’s helped crack fantastic Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, and High Republic storylines, among many others, in the past, both in comic book and novel form. He’s consistently been one of the best modern Star Wars writers around, so there are plenty of reasons to be excited for this one beyond the initial pitch. The art will be handled by Luke Ross (Thrawn, Darth Maul series). You can check out the cover for issue #1 by Derrick Chew below:
“When fans talk to me about my Star Wars work, two of my Marvel comic runs come up more than almost anything else: my 2017 run on Darth Vader with Giuseppe Camuncoli and my 2019 series The Rise of Kylo Ren with Will Sliney… I think both of those worked so well in part because they were set in parts of the Star Wars timeline full of unanswered questions about characters the audience really loves,” explained Soule before admitting Legacy of Vader will feel like a continuation of those two series.
This announcement arrives after Lucasfilm Publishing and Marvel Comics’ strong showing at NYCC 2024 last week, where new projects set across the entire on-screen Star Wars timeline were announced. Chief among them was Star Wars: Jedi Knights, which will follow the Jedi Order via “an ensemble cast” in the lead-up to The Phantom Menace.